How Much Salt?

[Andie]

Sorry for all the questions, I am just clueless. We just got a new pool about 2m ago - salt system. For the past past month it seems we are adding a bag of salt a week and just wondering if this is normal? TIA.

~Andrea

[Woodsy]

This doesn't seem normal. Did you add salt originally or did the builders add salt? Are you testing for salt levels or is the system informing you that the level is low? If you don't have salt testing capability in house, you might want to see if your local pool shop can test it for you.

[Strannik]

Sorry for all the questions, I am just clueless. We just got a new pool about 2m ago - salt system. For the past past month it seems we are adding a bag of salt a week and just wondering if this is normal? TIA.

~Andrea

Unless you had heavy rains during past month, you shouldn't need to add salt.

Generally you only need to add salt when you add fresh water to replace the one lost through filter back wash/draining, or after heavy rains.

I suggest you take a sample of your water to a local pool shop and get them to test it.

[Discountpoolspa]

Definitely get a second opinion on the salt levels. A malfunctioning or dirty chlorinator cell could be misreporting your salt levels. If you actually are low on salt when you are adding, then something is diluting the salt. If you have a DE or sand filter, you could be backwashing too often. You could possibly have a leak in your pool somewhere. I have seen pools that drop salt levels quickly like that and they have a slow continuous leak underground (usually in plumbing, or at a fitting on the wall) and the automatic fill keeps the pool full even with the leak.

[Strannik]

I would change the cell and see what the readings are then.

It will be an expensive exercise. There are other ways to test for salt

Anyway i think by now the problem has been solved, since the post is quite old.